Um Finds Three Tight Ends To Replace Winslow.

UM coaches believe tight ends Kevin Everett, Greg Olsen and Buck Ortega make up one of the most talented groups on the team.

With former UM standouts Bubba Franks (2000), Jeremy Shockey (2002) and Winslow (2004) now among the best tight ends in the NFL, the Hurricanes have developed a reputation over the past five years for pumping out quality players at that spot.

Coach Larry Coker expects some "unbelievable mismatches" from the three, who he said will be key components of the offense.

"Tradition is rich over here at tight end," said Everett, a senior. "We just have to make sure we continue it."

Offensive coordinator Dan Werner said each tight end will be used in several ways, and that the playbook includes formations that will put all three on the field at the same time.

"Talent-wise, they are three of our top performers on the team," Werner said.

Possibly the hardest-working, too. The tight ends and their coach, Mario Cristobal, are the last to leave the practice field each day. They usually spend an extra 15 to 20 minutes catching passes from a machine that shoots out footballs or running routes in a competition where the last person to drop a pass is the winner.

They push each other to get better on the practice field, in the weight room or in the film room. That competitive drive leaves Cristobal confident each will be productive in some fashion.

"All three guys share the same desire to be a winner. They've got a championship mentality all the time," said Cristobal. "They each realize to be great players you have to become a student of the game, and obviously they have tons of footage upstairs of great tight ends from years past.''

Everett started four games last season and contributed nine receptions for 90 yards and four touchdowns.

Coaches brag about how Everett is faster, more athletic, and a better blocker than Winslow was. The only concern is that he doesn't possess Winslow's hands, but then again neither do most of the tight ends in the NFL.

After bouncing around from quarterback to linebacker to receiver, coaches didn't know what to expect from junior Ortega when he moved to tight end full time in the spring. What they got was one of the spring's biggest playmakers. His combination of hands, speed and size led the coaches to design some plays for him as the team's H-back, typically the player in the backfield who goes in motion.

"Perseverance has gotten me here," said Ortega, the son of former Dolphins linebacker Ralph Ortega.

Buck Ortega ate a steady diet of peanut butter and jelly sandwiches between meals this summer to gain 20 pounds. He now weighs 235.

"You never know what football is going to bring each day, so I just try to make the best of it, no matter what hand I'm dealt," said Ortega.

And Ortega's done that, as has Olsen, a redshirt freshman who came to Miami after transferring from Notre Dame about this time last year.

Olsen, who was the nation's No. 1-ranked tight end coming out of Wayne Hills High in New Jersey in 2002, picked Notre Dame over UM because his brother, Chris Olsen, was a quarterback there. But when Chris decided to transfer to Virginia last fall, Olsen immediately wanted out. He had one destination in mind: Tight End U.

"The tradition at tight end speaks for itself,'' Olsen said. "When you think of tight ends you think of Miami. Since being here I've gotten so much better, and I believe I can do great things here."

He's not alone. Texas prospect Martellus Bennett, the nation's No. 1 tight end for the upcoming signee class, has already committed to Miami. So those hoping that the tight end will be phased out of Miami's game plan just might have a long wait.